The purchase and field deployment of 18,000 iPads will help the U.S. Air Force save approximately $50 million over the coming decade.

In 2012, the Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) awarded a $9.36 million contract to procure the tablets as part of a sweeping effort to replace flight manuals. Contractor Executive Technology secured the deal to deploy the Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs), The Street reported Friday.

AMC, which provides Air Force cargo, passenger transport, refueling and aeromedical evacuation services, aims to boost efficiency and save millions of dollars through the tablets. For a typical aircrew, this means doing away with dozens of manuals containing literally tens of thousands of pages of information.

"We're saving about 90 pounds of paper per aircraft and limiting the need for each crew member to carry a 30 to 40 pound paper pile [of flight manuals]," explains Major Brian Moritz, EFB program manager. "It adds up to quite a lot of weight in paper."